EDITORIAL

Federal failures in West's aftermath

Written byTHE DALLAS MORNING NEWS EDITORIAL BOARD

Published June 5, 2013

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nvestigations into the April 17 explosion in West have exposed appalling levels of dysfunction and incompetence at the federal level, similar to flaws we noted in a Wednesday editorial on the state’s responsibilities. Badly written regulations, confusing federal guidelines and investigatory turf battles have further muddled the picture rather than bringing clarity.

A good example was the recent bickering between the lead investigating agency, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and a team of 18 experts from the federal Chemical Safety Board. Both want to determine how a warehouse fire at the West Fertilizer Co. prompted a massive, deadly explosion of ammonium nitrate fertilizer.

Federal stumbles

Dysfunctional: Turf battles between Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents and the Chemical Safety Board denied some experts access to the blast site.

Incompetent: The Environmental Protection Agency, oblivious to the many examples of ammonium nitrate’s explosive dangers, still excludes it from the list of extremely hazardous chemicals.

Unresponsive: West Fertilizer Co. reportedly had the capacity to process up to 2,400 tons of ammonium nitrate annually, yet the Homeland Security Department didn’t take notice.

Both had a mandate to determine the blast’s cause — the ATF from a criminal investigation standpoint and CSB from an industry safety perspective. Both had expertise to help determine whether sabotage had occurred, a key question after a volunteer paramedic who rushed to the explosion site was later arrested on charges of possessing pipe-bomb materials. The paramedic denies any link to the blast.

Presumably, a priority was determining whether trace chemicals from the pipe bomb explosives could be found anywhere around the blast site. The Chemical Safety Board’s expertise could have been particularly helpful, since studying trace chemical elements is in its job description.

But the ATF apparently chose to guard its turf and grant what CSB managing director Daniel Horowitz called “only limited and intermittent access” to the blast site before the on-site investigation concluded.

The explosion’s true cause might never be known. Arson remains one of three causes still under investigation.

This picture is further confused by federal regulations governing sites such as West Fertilizer that store large quantities of toxic or explosive chemicals. The Department of Homeland Security asserts regulatory jurisdiction for chemicals like ammonium nitrate that terrorists can turn into bombs. West Fertilizer was required under federal law to report to Homeland Security, but it didn’t. And there was minimal follow-up action by the department to ensure compliance.

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Then there’s the Environmental Protection Agency, which maintains a reference list of extremely hazardous chemicals for state inspectors, local emergency planning committees and first responders to use when gauging safety risks. The list mentions nicotine and amphetamine but doesn’t include ammonium nitrate.

Texas uses EPA’s list — not Homeland Security’s — when directing local jurisdictions and companies about legal requirements and safety procedures. With ammonium nitrate excluded from EPA’s list, it also is off Texas regulators’ radar screen for hazard potential. That could help explain why any state inspectors who detected serious problems at West Fertilizer might have been legally powerless to require fixes and avert a deadly disaster.

A federal review of policies and procedures is now underway. The residents of West will no doubt be underwhelmed to hear about this tardy step.■